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<div id="node-133" class="section-1">
<h1 class="book-heading">Virtual Combat Cards User Guide</h1>

<p>This is the <em>Virtual Combat Cards</em> online manual, we hope it will keep improving, and help on this is always
    welcome. </p>

<p>We strive to make VCC clear and simple to use, but as it increases in
    features and complexity the manual is designed to help explore the most
    of the tracker.</p>

<div id="node-143" class="section-2">
    <h1 class="book-heading">Concepts and Conventions</h1>

    <p>In <em>Virtual Combat Cards</em> screen and documentation there are
        some terms and concept used. Understanding them will make it easier to
        explore the tool and also to request support. </p>
    <dl>
        <dt><strong>Combatant</strong></dt>
        <dd>Combatant include: monster, PC, and traps. Any combatant in a battle
            has his own object in VCC. They can be in the initiative sequence or in
            reserve, but if you are tracking information it's a <em>combatant</em>.
        </dd>
        <dt><strong>Combat Sequence</strong></dt>
        <dd>This is the combatant order in the battle. In VCC this is
            implemented as a round robin (i.e. once the first combatant ends its
            round it goes to the very last position). Combatant that have not yet
            joined the initiative order are in <em>reserve</em> and are always on the very bottom of the table.
        </dd>
        <dt><strong>Target Combatant</strong></dt>
        <dd>This is the combatant that is currently selected in the combat
            sequence an to which all effects or damage will be applied. You can
            switch targets be selecting a different row in the <em>combat sequence</em> table.
        </dd>
        <dt><strong>Source Combatant</strong></dt>
        <dd>This is normally the first combatant, but you can select other ones using the <code> Alt-A</code>
            on the Combat Sequence (making the selected combatant both the target
            and source), or using the drop box on the Effect Creation panel.
        </dd>
        <dt><strong>Combatant ID</strong></dt>
        <dd>This is a small string or number that is used to identify a
            combatant. Think of it as the number on an athlete’s shirt. Altough
            large strings can be used, some panels expect short string, and in the
            future we want to use them for keyboard activated commands.
        </dd>
        <dt><strong>Alias</strong></dt>
        <dd>This is a way to identify a combatant by something else then it’s
            name or ID. You can use this field to indicate the miniatures, the NPC
            name, or some other thing that you wish to distinguish.
        </dd>
        <dt><strong>Effect</strong></dt>
        <dd>This represents both conditions and effect that affect a combatant. The tracker will expire time bound
            effects automatically.
        </dd>
        <dt><strong>VCC Compendium</strong></dt>
        <dd>This is a VCC specific database that is used to collect your
            monsters, players and traps in order to assemble encounter or parties.
        </dd>
    </dl>
</div>
<div id="node-144" class="section-2">
    <h1 class="book-heading">Keyboard Shortcuts</h1>

    <p>To improve control Virtual Combat Cards has some short cuts for common tasks.</p>

    <p>These are the currently available shortcuts:</p>
    <ul>
        <li>Ctrl+F: Select the first combatant on the combat sequence.
        </li>
        <li>Ctrl+Z: Undo last operation
        </li>
        <li>Ctrl+Y: Redo last undo
        </li>
        <li>Alt+S and Alt+E: Start and end round
        </li>
        <li>Alt+T: Set Temporary HP to currently selected combatant on the sequence table.
        </li>
        <li>Alt+H: Heal currently selected combatant on the sequence table.
        </li>
        <li>Alt+D: Damage currently selected combatant on the sequence table.
        </li>
        <li>Alt+A: Set the Active Combatant on the effect panel as the currently selected combatant on the combat
            sequence
        </li>
        <li>Alt+M: Mark the current combatant using the combatant on the effect panel.
        </li>
    </ul>
</div>
<div id="node-161" class="section-2">
    <h1 class="book-heading">License</h1>

    <p>This software is licensed under <a href="http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.txt">GNU General Public License
        Version 3.</a></p>
</div>
<div id="node-146" class="section-2">
    <h1 class="book-heading">Managing your Parties and Encounters</h1>

    <p>Creating a party is a simple activity once you have the compendium entries (the combatant definitions).<br>
        When building encounters VCC will show how many XP of your budget you have spent.</p>

    <p>To create a party or encounter: </p>
    <ol>
        <li>Open the party-editor window (<strong>Compendium &gt; Edit Party...</strong>.
        </li>
        <li>You will see all the compendium entries you have (Monster and
            Characters) on the left. Double clicking on an entry will move it into
            the party.
        </li>
        <li>Once on the encounter table, you can change the <em>quantity</em> and edit the <em>alias</em> and
            <em>ID</em>. To change <em>ID</em>, the quantity must be one (you cannot check or uncheck the <strong>Collapse
                similar entries</strong> to see individual entries).
        </li>
        <li>Once you have all the entries you want in the encounter, you can save it using <strong>File &gt; Save
            ...</strong>.
        </li>
        <li>Alternatively, you can add them directly to the current combat using <strong>File &gt; Add to
            combat</strong>.
        </li>
    </ol>
    <p>You can load saved parties or encounters at any time. We recommend
        you separate the character party and monster encounters into separate
        files to make it easier to choose your battles. You can load previously
        saved parties or encounters to change their build up.</p>

    <p>Here are some suggestions for handling some combatants that are not basic type:</p>
    <dl>
        <dt><strong>Traps</strong></dt>
        <dd>Create traps as monsters. If they cannot suffer damage to be
            disabled, give them a huge amount of HP. Otherwise use the HP to track
            the damage to them. If they don't have initiative, keep them in reserve
            when starting the combat.
        </dd>
        <dt><strong>Hazards</strong></dt>
        <dd>These normally define an area of threat and react to entry or
            beginning a round in them. Create them as monsters, and keep them in
            reserve.
        </dd>
        <dt><strong>Companions</strong></dt>
        <dd>Rangers may have companions. Companions' health works just like the
            Players, but they don't have their own initiative. So create a <em>player</em>, and when running combats
            leave the companion in reserve.
        </dd>
    </dl>
</div>
<div id="node-147" class="section-2">
    <h1 class="book-heading">Running a Combat</h1>

    <p>In this section we assume you have the sample data (shipped with
        1.1.0). If you don’t have that you will have to create a party yourself
        (see <a href="http://www.exnebula.org/node/146">Managing your Parties and Encounters</a>). With the encounter
        files ready running a battle is a simple task.</p>
    <ol>
        <li>Select <strong>File &gt; Load party...</strong> then select the party file (the <code>sample-enc.peml</code>
            in case you use the sample data).<br>
            <strong>Note:</strong> If the file is invalid or not all entries exist
            in your compendium you will get a confirmation window. Check the party
            files in the Party Editor to verify what is wrong
        </li>
        <li>All loaded combatant will appear in the <em>Combat Sequence</em> in not particular order. You can load other
            files if necessary, not need with the sample data.
        </li>
        <li>Starting a combat requires two steps first you must <strong>Combat -&gt; Roll Initiative...</strong>. The
            <em>Roll Initiative</em> windows will appear.
            <ul>
                <li>You can adjust the initiative score for the combatants (on the <em>Init</em> column);
                </li>
                <li>Place the dice roll for player or monster (on the <em>Roll</em> column), or leave the <em>r</em> to
                    have VCC roll for you.
                </li>
                <li>If you specify something like: <em>r/r</em> or <em>7/13</em>,
                    you are telling VCC that the creature should have two initiative (either
                    rolled or specific respectively). You can use any number of initiative
                    slots for a combatant, for example <em>r/r/10/r</em> means 4 initiative slots (one of the will have
                    a result of 10).
                </li>
                <li>You can also group monsters with the same name (this will make groups of creature initially are
                    placed together).
                </li>
                <li>Set them to reserve, meaning they are not take part of the battle for now (use this for companions);
                </li>
                <li>Pressing <strong>OK </strong> and VCC will sort and place the combatants in the correct sequence.
                </li>
                <li>The sequence table will now show the combatant in initiative order. You can re-roll initiatives if
                    necessary.
                </li>
            </ul>
        </li>
        <li>To start the combat use <strong>Combat -&gt; Start Combat</strong>.
        </li>
        <li>From there on you can use the <em>Initiative Actions</em>, <em>Health Change</em> and <em>Effect
            Creation</em> panels to start and end round, apply damage and healing, add effects, etc.
        </li>
        <li>You can go back to the initiative window to roll initiative for
            other combatant (useful if you add combatant after the combat has
            begun).
        </li>
    </ol>
    <p>In addition to the basic running of the battle you can:</p>
    <ul>
        <li><strong>Combat &gt; End Combat</strong> to end the battle and place all combatant in reserve;
        </li>
        <li><strong>Combat &gt; Rest</strong> to clear all the effects and temporary HP;
        </li>
        <li><strong>Combat &gt; Extended Rest</strong> to recover all the HP
        </li>
        <li><strong>Combat &gt; Clear Monster</strong> to remove any combatant that is note a <em>Player Character</em>
            from the roster.
        </li>
        <li><strong>History &gt; Undo</strong> to undo the last action (you can redo them again). This is the way to
            move back in time.
        </li>
    </ul>
</div>
<div id="node-43" class="section-2">
    <h1 class="book-heading">Tracking Effects</h1>

    <p>The effect tracker is available from <em>Virtual Combat Cards</em>
        0.90 onwards. It will allow easy tracking of individual effects and
        includes expiring effects that end at the end or start of a combatants
        round.</p>

    <p>In order to create an effect you use the <strong>Effect Creation</strong> pane. Active effect will be visible on
        the <strong>Active Effects</strong> pane. Starting and ending rounds will automatically expire effects as
        needed.</p>

    <div id="node-44" class="section-3">
        <h1 class="book-heading">Creating Effects</h1>

        <p><strong>Effect Creation</strong> pane is used to create and add an
            effect to a combatant. The pane contains two identical areas that can be
            used to create distinct effects. Notice that VCC handles effects not
            conditions. Effect may include a set of conditions like: “Slowed and
            Dazed”; Duration: “Save Ends”. </p>

        <p>The pane looks like this (without the black and white numbers):<br>
        </p>
        <center><img src="vcc-90-effect.png"></center>
        <p></p>

        <p>The meaning of the numbers in the black circles:</p>
        <dl>
            <dt><strong>1 - Source</strong></dt>
            <dd>Since some durations are bound to the sources' round, selection the
                source is important. When a new combatant starts the round, it will be
                assigned as the source. You can change this if you want add an effect
                for some other combatant (as a result of immediate actions or
                opportunity attacks)
            </dd>
            <dt><strong>2 - Condition type selection: Any</strong></dt>
            <dd>There are two type of effect as of version 0.90, the first is the <strong>Any</strong>
                type. This type should be used for all effect except mark (see below).
                The text field besides the combo box should be used to specify the
                description of the effect and/or conditions. Once the effect has been
                added it can be edited in the <strong>Active Effects</strong> table.
            </dd>
            <dt><strong>3 - Beneficial check box</strong></dt>
            <dd>This check box should be used to mark effect that are beneficial to
                the target (such as: +2 on all attacks). This is relevant only for
                effect that end an the end of a turn and when a <em>Delay</em> happens.
            </dd>
            <dt><strong>4 - Condition type selection: Mark</strong></dt>
            <dd>The second type of effects that can be created is the <em>mark</em>.
                Since the target can only be marked by one combatant this type should
                be used when adding a mark. VCC will automatically remove the previous
                mark. The <strong>cant be superseded</strong> check box is used to indicate that the mark can’t is
                definitive. Some powers in the Martial Powers book have this property.
            </dd>
            <dl>
                <p>The <strong>duration </strong> combo box is used to determine the
                    duration of an effect. Most of the effect durations should be self
                    explanatory (assuming you play D&amp;D 4E). The following durations have
                    some special behavior:</p>
                <dl>
                    <dt><strong>End of source’s next turn, sustain</strong></dt>
                    <dd>Effect that are sustainable should use this duration. The effect
                        will only be sustained until the end of the next turn (of the select
                        source, normally the acting combatant). During the next turn of the
                        source, you must click the sustain button on the <strong>Active Effects</strong> pane.
                    </dd>
                    <dt><strong>Save End (Special)</strong></dt>
                    <dd>This should be used for powers where a save ends the effect, but
                        failing the saving throw will change the conditions in effect (like the <em>Sleep</em> Wizard
                        power) (see <a href="http://www.exnebula.org/node/222">this page for more details</a>).
                    </dd>
                    <dt><strong>Stance</strong></dt>
                    <dd>As described in the rules the effect last until the End of Encounter (that is a rest) or until a
                        new Stance is activated.
                    </dd>
                    <dt><strong>Other</strong></dt>
                    <dd>Use this for anything that does not fall in the existing durations.</dd>
                </dl>
                <p>As with previous version, additional information about conditions can be written in the <strong>
                    Comments and Notes</strong> pane. This is a good option for condition like: prone and other
                    condition that are in effect until countered.</p>
            </dl>
        </dl>
    </div>
    <div id="node-42" class="section-3">
        <h1 class="book-heading">Viewing Effects</h1>

        <p>All effects currently active on a combatant are displayed on the <strong>Active Effects</strong>
            pane. This will provide a quick view of the effect description,
            duration, and source. This pane also allows you to sustain effect and
            cancel effects.</p>

        <p>As shown below:<br>
        </p>
        <center><img src="vcc-90-effview.png"></center>
        <p></p>

        <p>The colors have a special meaning:</p>
        <dl>
            <dt><em>Blue</em></dt>
            <dd>The effect is beneficial to the target, this is relevant only when
                the source delays a round and the effect end at the end of it's turn
            </dd>
            <dt><em>Orange</em></dt>
            <dd>The duration box column may have an orange color, this indicates
                that the duration has something special. Either it's sustainable, or
                it's a effect were failing a save will cause additional effects (like in
                the Sleep power)
            </dd>
        </dl>
        <p>At the bottom of this pane are two buttons:</p>
        <dl>
            <dt><strong>Sustain</strong></dt>
            <dd>Clicking this button will sustain an effect, however this will only
                cause effect if the effect is bound to end at the End of the current
                Turn (duration is EoT)
            </dd>
            <dt><strong>Cancel Effect</strong></dt>
            <dd>Will remove the effect from the list.</dd>
        </dl>
        <p>As will all tracked object, you can undo actions in case an invalid command was executed.</p>

        <h3>Editing</h3>

        <p>All effect descriptions (except Mark effects) can be edited by double clicking on the
            <strong>description</strong> on the table in the <strong>Active Effects</strong> pane. Place the new text
            and press <em>Enter</em>. This is not supported for mark, in this case simply add a new mark.</p>
    </div>
    <div id="node-221" class="section-3">
        <h1 class="book-heading">Tracking ongoing damage and regeneration</h1>

        <p>Starting with version 1.5.0 Virtual Combat Cards can track ongoing
            damage and regeneration. Effect that have the proper wording will be
            handled on the beginning of rounds and prompt the user to input the
            effective amount of healing or damage to apply.</p>

        <p>The condition text will be split into parts on the <em>and</em> work and the progression separators (<em> -&gt; </em>
            or <em>/</em>). </p>

        <p><strong>Ongoing damage</strong></p>

        <p>For ongoing damage the the condition must include the text <em>ongoing</em>
            followed by a number, text after this will be included in the prompt.
            So these condition texts will prompt the user for amount of damage to
            apply:</p>
        <ul>
            <li>ongoing 5
            </li>
            <li>ongoing 5 fire
            </li>
            <li>ongoing 5 fire &amp; thunder
            </li>
            <li>ongoing 1d20
            </li>
            <li>ongoing 5 slowed
            </li>
            <li>slowed ongoing 10
            </li>
        </ul>
        <p>All these will trigger the ongoing damage prompt. In the 1d20 case,
            the value suggested will be 1 hit point. Not that for effect that have
            two damage type you must use the ampersand (&amp;) sign not and, or the
            match will skip the <em> and</em> word.</p>

        <p><strong>Regeneration</strong></p>

        <p>To have VCC prompt for regeneration the condition text must include the prefix <em>regen</em> followed by a
            number. So the following text will cause a prompt for regeneration:</p>
        <ul>
            <li>regen 5
            </li>
            <li>regenerate 2
            </li>
            <li>regeneration 10 while bloodied
            </li>
            <li>regeno 5 slowed
            </li>
            <li>regenarate 4 if not hit by fire or cold
            </li>
        </ul>
        <p><strong>Note:</strong> regenerate will always be prompted first. In
            some conditions this may lead to less hit point being restore. DM/User
            discernment is necessary in these cases.</p>
    </div>
    <div id="node-222" class="section-3">
        <h1 class="book-heading">Effect that change on failed saving throw</h1>

        <p>Some effects like Sleep and Medusa petrification start of in one
            condition then progress to worst conditions. To be able to handle these
            effects Virtual Combat Cards includes two features. First there is the <em>Save ends (Special)</em> duration
            options. Secondly starting on version 1.5.0, users can specify a set of effects that will take place on a
            failed save.</p>

        <p>To do this, users must right the condition separated by either arrows (<em>-&gt;</em>) or slash (<em>/</em>).
            On the save prompt VCC will suggest the next condition if the save fails. </p>

        <p>As examples:</p>
        <dl>
            <dt>Wizard's Sleep Spell</dt>
            <dd>
                <ul>
                    <li>slowed -&gt; unconscious</li>
                    <li>slowed / unconscious</li>
                </ul>
                <p>On the first failed save the effect will become <em>unconscious</em><br>
                </p></dd>
            <dt>Medusa's Gaze</dt>
            <dd>
                <ul>
                    <li>slowed -&gt; immobilized -&gt; petrified</li>
                    <li>slowed / immobilized / petrified</li>
                </ul>
                <p>On the first failed save the effect will become <em>immobilzed -&gt; petrified</em>, and on a
                    subsequent failed save it becomes <em>petrified</em><br>
                </p></dd>
        </dl>
        <p>Notice that the effect will still remain being prompted for change
            after the last condition is reached. In the case of petrification, you
            could simple pass the saving throw and place a note on the creatures
            note box.</p>
    </div>
    <div id="node-45" class="section-3">
        <h1 class="book-heading">Tips on creating effects</h1>

        <p>In line with VCC general design goals tracking effects and
            condition was done in a simple and generic way. While there are all
            types of condition and effects, some the most common ones should work
            well. Designing a compact and effective interface was complex, and not
            all cases may be easy to track. In this section we present some tips and
            trick that may make you life easier.</p>
        <dl>
            <dt><strong>Paladin Divine Challenge</strong></dt>
            <dd>This is obviously a mark, but since the Paladin does not have to
                attack to sustain the mark, you can select the duration “End of source’s
                turn, sustain”. This way you can easily sustain the effect.
            </dd>
            <dt><strong>Sustainable that affect other combatant</strong></dt>
            <dd>Some powers will give a penalty or a special condition on the target and can be sustained by the source
                (such as Warlord’s <em>Break the Tempo</em>).
                In the current version these are challenging effect to keep track.
                Since the effect can be sustained only when the source is action, and
                you may forget to look at the target (and sustain the effect). It may be
                safer to place two effects:
                <ol>
                    <li>On the source of the effect add a sustainable effect with the power name;
                    </li>
                    <li>On the target put an effect with duration <em>Other</em>, indicating that it is linked to the
                        source power
                    </li>
                </ol>
            </dd>
            <dt><strong>Warlock power that have Save End and Sustain</strong></dt>
            <dd>Warlocks have a set of powers that have both <em>save end</em> and <em>sustain</em> (such as <em>Curse
                of the Bloody Fangs</em>). This <a
                    href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/d-d-4th-edition-rules/236843-how-would-you-write-curse-bloody-fangs-make-sense.html#post4393563">
                discussion on EN World</a> describes a way to track these effects. The idea is to break them into:
                <ol>
                    <li>On the warlock add an effect that can be sustained, and point to the
                        target and the condition it must have (in the forum discussion: “Curse
                        of Bloody Fangs on Target”);
                    </li>
                    <li>Add an effect on the target with duration <em> End of source’s next turn</em> (in the forum:
                        “Nibbled”);
                    </li>
                    <li>If the warlock sustains, add a new effect with duration <em> Save end</em> (in the forum:
                        “Chewed”).
                    </li>
                </ol>
                <p>This should provide the correct way to handle this. Of course you can ask for the warlock to track
                    this, and just put the <em>Save End </em> portion of the effect on the tracker.<br>
                </p></dd>
        </dl>
    </div>
</div>
<div id="node-29" class="section-2">
    <h1 class="book-heading">History and Motivation</h1>

    <p>Virtual Combat Cards (VCC) was created to replace my real combat
        cards. These were blank business cards that I used to register HP and
        other information to run my D&amp;D 4th Edition battles. This is a
        method recommended in the Dungeon Master guide. I also use numbered
        chips made of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_porcelain">Cold Porcelain</a>.
        This option is much cheaper than miniatures (though not as pretty), and
        the number allow for quick reference of each combatant. These two
        aspects are key to the current VCC design.</p>

    <p>You can see my old setup in the picture below.<br>
    </p>
    <center><br>
        <img src="tokens-rcc.jpg"><br>
        Numbered tokens and combat cards<br>
    </center>
    <p></p>

    <p>While effective the cards have some short comings:</p>
    <ul>
        <li>You have to write and erase conditions;
        </li>
        <li>You have to do all the math, which takes a lot of time: "let's see how much is 173 minus 27...";
        </li>
        <li>You sometimes skip a card, or remove the wrong one;
        </li>
        <li>Tracking effects that last until the next turn can be hard;
        </li>
    </ul>
    <p>All in all, this quote from a friend has made it clear that a
        computerized version was needed: "I like playing RPG, but computer
        should take care of all book keeping." As time to play becomes scarcer,
        having something to help run the game really helps.</p>

    <p>VCC is not the first attempt to do something like this. However keeping the design simple and loosely following
        <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agile_software_development">Agile Development</a>
        made it a reality. The design is simple, yet effective. And with
        experience and more time new features can be included. Help will sure be
        welcome.</p>
</div>
</div>


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